GOOGLE EARTH™ TUTORIAL

Introduction

The Morris Team has added a link to Google Earth™ as a resource on our web site to provide our clients with the most ultra sophisticated tool available today to aid them in their search and selection of their perfect dream home.   Google Earth™ combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to turn any address into a virtual neighborhood at your fingertips on your desktop.   You will be able to locate schools, parks, golf courses, restaurants, stores and whatever your requirements.   You must have a computer capable of processing the data and an internet service provider capable of handling the large amounts of data that must be transferred.   If you are using a Macintosh and/or dial up service, we are sorry but you will not be able to use the program.   Most other systems that use Windows and either cable or DSL service will work.   The following items are the minimum configuration you will need;

Minimum configuration

•   Operating system: Windows 2000, Windows XP
•   CPU speed: Intel® Pentium® PIII 500 MHz
•   System memory (RAM): 128MB
•   200MB hard-disk space
•   3D graphics card: 3D-capable video card with 16MB VRAM
•   1024x768, 32-bit true color screen (800 X 600 will work but not as well.)
•   Network speed: 128 kbps ("Broadband/Cable Internet")

If you have the minimum requirements the next sections will quickly get you started using this powerful tool. These instructions are in no way meant to replace the help section of the program but only act as a supplement to get you going quickly. We suggest for ease of use that you download and print the Printer Friendly version of this web page using the following link and it will make it easier to follow the instructions.

Getting started with Google Earth™

You first must download and install the Google Earth™ program into your computer. You do this by clicking the following link and following the simple instructions.

Once you have the programed loaded and instatlled and running you are ready for a real experience.    Near the center of the page you will see a button marked "View with Google Earth" and you want to left click on that button.   Once you have done this a small window will appear and ask you do you want to Open or Save this file, you want to left click on Open.

The program will load and move to the Clearwater area, once you have the basics down pat, you will be able to use this program to look anywhere in the world.   As you can see the screen contains several windows.   The big window in the upper right is the viewing area and the smaller windows to the left and below the viewing areas are controls.   Let's take a quick look at these windows to get you started.    In the lower right hand side of the screen are a serious of blue buttons that allow you to control the view.   If you move your mouse pointer over any of these buttons a small box appears that tells you the function of the button.   As you can see these buttons allow you to zoom in and out, move the view in any direction rotate the view in either direction and tilt the view so as to achieve a three dimensional affect.   A quick trial of these buttons will convince you of the versatility that you are going to have to explore a new neighborhood.

To the left of the control buttons are six boxes, by moving the mouse cursor over the box and left clicking, you will get an overlay on the view of roads, lodging, dining etc.   If at first nothing appears on the view, zoom in or out till it does.

The window in the lower left hand corner of the screen provides the user with a series of boxes you can check using the mouse to overlay a wide variety of features and locations of facilities and businesses that you may want in your new neighborhood.   Merely left click on the box to get the overlay for any item and then left click again on that item to remove the overlay.

In the window in the upper left hand corner of the screen allows you to move to any location you desire.    It is extremely versatile. You can type in a ZIP code such as 33765 and then on SEARCH and it will show you that ZIP Code area.    You can type in a city name such as Clearwater, FL to view that area.   You can type in a specific address such as 1988 Gulf to Bay Blvd., Clearwater, FL and the view will move to that location.

The Place window below the Search window has some places world wide that you might care to view if you have some time for site seeing.

These brief instructions should be enough to get you started using this fabulous tool to help you select the neighborhood for your perfect new dream home from the comfort of your desktop. There are many more features available that you may wish to explore and you can learn these by Clicking on Help and then in the pull down menu clicking on Contents.

We hope that this invaluable tool will help you make your dream home selection quicker and easier and that when you are ready to buy you will depend on the Morris Team to make your purchase as smooth and trouble free as possible.